The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu on Tuesday, 13th February, 2018 made a case for the encouragement and greater involvement of Nigerian content in the Nation’s Oil and Gas sector. Speaking during his official visit to EGINA Floating Production Storage Offloading, FPSO, Dr. Kachikwu commended Total Upstream Nigeria Limited, (TUPNI) and her partners, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), CNOOC, SAPETRO and PETROBRAS for the landmark achievement recorded by taking delivery of the $3.3 billion Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) unit which berthed the shores of Nigeria on 25th January 2018 at the newly built 500-metre FPSO integration quayside at the Samsung Yard (SHI-MCI Yard), at the LADOL Free Zone in Lagos.
During the visit which had in attendance, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Management Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Wabote, and the Managing Director of Total E & P, Mr. Nicholas Terraz, Dr. Kachikwu restated the efforts currently being made by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and her Agencies to encourage local fabrication and optimum participation of Nigerians in the Oil and Gas sector.
While reiterating the gains expected with the commencement of operation of the FPSO, Dr. Kachikwu noted that Egina FPSO was the first project to be initiated and launched after the 2010 enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, and that Egina has by far the highest quantum of local content completed for any oil & gas project in Nigeria, thereby advancing Nigerian content to record levels.
Speaking during the official visit, the Managing Director of Total E & P, Mr. Nicholas Terraz, noted that with a length of 330 metres, the Egina FPSO is the largest FPSO ever installed in Nigeria and the largest FPSO built by the Total Group worldwide and that over the next five months, six modules which were fabricated locally in Nigeria would be integrated into the FPSO at the Samsung Yard before the FPSO sails away to the Egina field.
In his speech at the occasion, Engr. Simbi Wabote paid glowing tribute to the Honorable Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, for his support and his insistence on local content in procurement and supplies in the Oil and Gas sector. He said such insistence would help to enhance Nigeria’s economic growth. He also corroborated that the Egina FPSO is a remarkable achievement in local content development in Nigeria.
As part of a firm commitment to build and develop local capacity and ensure knowledge and key technology transfer, Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria Limited together with its joint venture partner established SHI-MCI FZE (SHI-MCI) as a joint venture entity with facility located at Tarkwa Bay. The facility is West Africa’s first fabrication and integration yard.
With the coming on stream of the Egina project, the bar has been set in terms of compliance with Local Content laws with over 1,200 Nigerians employed in various capacities.
